Friday didn’t look so black for John Bartholomew. The 26-year-old International Master picked up chess’ hottest item before the holiday rush this year: his first Grandmaster norm, last week at the Saint Louis Classic. He also took clear first with 6.5/9.

John goes through some key moments of the tournament:

The annual event, put on by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, is designed to award these norms, or milestones toward earning chess’ highest titles IM and GM. Per the requirements of FIDE, the world’s governing body of chess solely in charge of awarding both titles, a player must not only pass a rating threshold but also collect three quality performances in high-level tournaments. These norms, as they are called, are as much a reflection of the player – who must ultimately execute – as they are the event, which must pass several strict guidelines for FIDE recognition.Click here to read the full article at www.stlbeacon.org.